Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 31: The Strange Servant
"Lovegood…" Harry felt that the name was familiar, but could not place it. He had met many interesting people in the past, after all. In any case, it must be an old family.
A gift like 'Magesight' was not something that new-blood wizards could hope to possess.
'Although the girl looks very odd. Is she even mentally stable?' Harry wondered.
Those with unique gifts tended to be more eccentric, and there was a thin line between eccentric and completely mad.
He only had two more collars to use at the moment. It was a big decision.
"Tell me, are y—"
"Are you going to kill me?" Luna said all of a sudden, interrupting what he was going to ask.
That surprised him. He was indeed considering killing her. That was the only other option, if he decided against placing her under his control.
He could not have someone like her remain free after all. This was just their first encounter, and she already knew too much.
"What makes you say that?" Harry asked. He was sure that Luna had not read his mind.
No matter how many talents she could have, a mental intrusion would not have gone unnoticed by him.
"I don't know… I sometimes get these feelings, and I can sort of tell what people's intentions are. There is something dark around you… All the other creatures are staying away from you."
'An empath as well? No… that can't be.' Harry thought.
There are many unique gifts that wizards and witches can be born with, like Parseltongue or Magesight. But having more than one should not be possible.
'She must be using her ability in a unique way that I am not familiar with.'
"That is very impressive, Miss Lovegood. You have an incredible talent. Did you know about that?" Harry had already made his decision.
"Me? Talent?" No one had ever said something like that to her. The other students just called her crazy or weirdo and stayed clear of her, except for the few occasions when they decided to mess with her possessions.
"Indeed. You have a very special gift. You just don't know how to use it yet. I could teach you that...and many other things," Harry said.
"You want to teach me?" That was another thing that no one had ever offered her.
Which was strange, since she was at a school, but even the professors seemed to think that ignoring her was preferable to dealing with her 'weirdness'.
"What's your name?" she decided to ask.
"My name? Well, it's Harry Po—"
"No, but you are not him," Luna interrupted him.
"Why do you want to know my other name?"
"Because I read that you need to introduce yourself properly to make friends. Is that wrong?" Luna asked, as she wasn't sure about it.
"Is that your way of saying that you want to be my friend? Even though you know I am an impostor who was just contemplating killing you?"
"Yes?" Luna tilted her head. It's not like she had gotten any other offers.
Harry chuckled. "You are definitely a strange one…" He pulled a black collar from his magical pockets. "My name used to be Ekrizdis Skarvok."
"That's a weird name," Luna pointed out.
"It's an old name… here." He showed her the collar. "This will be the symbol of our friendship. I want you to wear it."
"You are giving me a present?" Luna glanced at the collar with fascination. "But I don't have anything to give you."
"That's alright, my dear. You will give me plenty in the future…" He got closer to her and moved her long blonde hair out of the way before placing the collar on her neck.
Luna never tried to resist him or to move away.
The collar reacted as soon as it touched her skin and came alive, wrapping itself around her neck.
Luna's eyes turned blank and she collapsed on the floor.
Harry had to hurry and grab her before she cracked her skull on the ground.
This was his new servant, after all, so he needed her with her head intact.
'I hope I made the right choice,' Harry thought as he glanced at the girl's face. Now he only had one collar left.
He waited patiently for Luna to recover her senses.
It's not like he could leave her here, as he had to make sure that everything worked perfectly.
There was one time when the collar failed to bend the will of the victim, and this one went completely insane instead.
It had been an isolated case, however... Harry had become more meticulous with his methods afterward.
The color returned to Luna's eyes, and her body trembled as she regained her consciousness.
"Hello, Master…" Luna looked around. "Why am I on the floor?"
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Why are you addressing me in such a way? I never asked you to."
"But isn't that what you want? That's how you want to be addressed," Luna said with no hesitation.
"Mmmm…" Once more, she was right. It was like she could read his thoughts, but that was not what she was doing.
"Very well. Although you must never call me as such in public." Harry helped her back on her feet. "Just call me Harry."
"Even though that is not your name?" Luna asked.
"That is my name now," he corrected her.
The girl shrugged in response. "As you wish."
"It is getting late and some of the professors may still be wandering the halls. So go back to your room. We will talk more tomorrow."
"But I haven't found my shoes yet," Luna complained.
"Your shoes…" Harry glanced down at her feet. He had forgotten about that. And he didn't miss the fact that she just defied a direct command.
"I knew this was going to be more challenging, compared to that other girl."
Hermione was different, as the two of them were already friends who knew each other quite well. Or at the very least, she knew the real Harry Potter.
She also had a strong desire to follow commands from those she considered her superiors and to obey rules.
This is why Hermione was such a good servant.
Luna was not going to be so straightforward.
"Let's go find your shoes so we can be done with this…" Harry began to walk away.
"Yay!" Luna followed him.
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